


Day Break

by thekatthatbarks



Series: Shikasaku Week 2020 [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Day One: dawn (we celebrate our victories), F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, ShikaSaku Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23345422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekatthatbarks/pseuds/thekatthatbarks
Summary: “I know how much you love your clouds, but you have to admit the sunset sure is something out here.”“If you like that, then you should see the sunrise. The colors are much prettier.”“Oh yeah?”He smiled and Sakura wasn’t ready for his reply, “Yeah, I prefer how much softer that pink is.”She rolled her eyes at herself and pressed her shoulder into the bark. The hell was she blushing for? It wasn’t like he was talking about her.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Nara Shikamaru
Series: Shikasaku Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1679083
Comments: 12
Kudos: 170





	Day Break

It was an infiltration mission and Sakura was leaning against a tree trunk with Shikamaru a foot from her. His eyes were on Koji Hyuuga a couple trees in front of them, whose pale eyes were glued to the large mansion, veins popping up beneath his skin. His cool attitude and long ponytail reminded Sakura of Neji and while she’d never been close to him, it was hard to speak to Koji outside of when she needed to for the mission.

Knowing it was a long wait, Sakura’s eyes wandered to the horizon in the distance. The sun was setting, and she marveled at how the dark oranges and purples bled into the blue sky. She commented idly in a soft voice, “I know how much you love your clouds, but you have to admit the sunset sure is something out here.”

Shikamaru snorted next to her. “If you like that, then you should see the sunrise. The colors are much prettier.”

He stood up and Sakura glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”

He smiled and Sakura wasn’t ready for his reply, “Yeah, I prefer how much softer that pink is.”

Sakura’s cheeks warmed but before she could say anything, he leapt to the tree Koji was on. She rolled her eyes at herself and pressed her shoulder into the bark. _The hell was she blushing for? It wasn’t like he was talking about her._

***

“I really wish you wouldn’t do that.” Shikamaru huffed, narrowing his eyes at her. The hand on her back was comforting, a stark contrast to the frustration bleeding off him.

Sakura took a deep breath before pulling the blade out of her side in a second. She muffled the scream that clawed at her throat as she dropped the sword to the ground. Her hands quickly moved to the wound, glowing chakra seeping into her side.

She glanced at Shikamaru and tried for a smile, her breathing shallow. “I have enough chakra to close it. I’m not going to just leave the blade in to stop the bleeding.”

He tsked at her, probably because she didn’t want to wait the minute it would take Ino to reach them. Pain hummed in her chest and Sakura squeezed her eyes, focusing on her chakra as she moved to lay back. Shikamaru’s hand moved to her shoulder and she barely noticed the other one on her thigh.

She turned her head and almost snorted, her hair falling into her face sticking to the sweat of her skin. “Well, there’s your sunrise, Shikamaru.”

He chuckled and Sakura felt herself smile. “Told you it was beautiful.”

Sakura heard the sound of Ino dropping from a tree and into the field, a branch swaying as she jumped off it and the leaves crunching underneath her feet. The thought crossed her mind to tease her about not quieting her movements but realized she was loud on purpose to not startle them.

“Sakura, what the hell? You couldn’t wait _thirty_ _seconds_?” Ino grumbled and Sakura felt hands covering hers. The wound stitched up much faster and Sakura felt her guard fall.

Her eyes stayed on the sky, watching the first light break across it. The colors _were_ so much softer. Exhaustion started to drag her eyelids down and she felt herself lose consciousness, focusing on the warm hand on her leg.

***

Sakura felt painfully aware of every step she took, worry growing that she would pass out right there on the street. Tsunade would kill her, especially after telling her she should rest on her office futon before going home. The surgery hadn’t felt like it lasted _that_ long, though, and Sakura had shrugged her off. _She wasn’t too exhausted to walk to her apartment._

That was apparently a blatant lie Sakura realized as she started to eye a bench like it was the greatest temptation. She changed direction towards it. _If only for a moment –_

Her sandal caught a crack in the ground and Sakura internally sighed knowing she was about to hit the ground. _Maybe she’d just lay there, passed out on the ground for some jounin to find her and tell her beloved master so she could rip her new one like she was twelve again._

But then hands were around her, gripping at her shoulders and pulling her upright. She felt dizzy and leaned into him, somehow knowing even in her delirious state who it was. Who it always was that caught her when she was falling.

“What are you doing?” Her tone was casual like she hadn't just been about to kiss the ground.

“What am _I_ doing? What’re _you_ doing? About to take a nap against the gravel?” Shikamaru’s voice was exasperated, but she could hear the worry laced through his words.

“Long day,” she mumbled, almost all her weight being supported as she fell back against him.

“Sakura-chan, it’s nearing seven am. Did you just get off a night shift or something?” He adjusted her, an arm around her waist and a hand under her elbow. He spoke softer to her, warm and understanding.

She buried her face into the crook of his neck, her eyes fluttering closed. She managed to tell him tiredly, “Surgery.”

He sighed and Sakura felt her feet leave the ground as he scooped her up into his arms. Sakura didn’t feel any embarrassment, barely aware of any feelings outside of wanting to bury herself into his chest.

“You can rest at my apartment, it’s closer than yours.”

Sakura merely hummed in response, fully intending to fall asleep in his arms.

She heard the click of chakra locks on his door unlocking, the cold of his apartment making her curl more into him. Her fingers clung to his shirt like a small child when he laid her on his bed, his warm chuckle waking her up a little. He was gentle as he shed her of her coat and shoes. She could tell his bed hadn’t been made before he left it with how easily he tucked her into it, the blankets having been folded away to the side.

Fingers carded through her hair, a low voice telling her, “Just stay as long as you like, Sakura. I’ll be at the Hokage Tower all day, though, so you’ll sadly have the bed to yourself.”

Sakura was aware enough to know he was flirting with her and smiled against the pillow. She mumbled sleepily, her hand catching the one he had in her hair, “That’s too bad, Shika.”

His soft laugh bounced off the walls as he tugged the blanket over her shoulder. He left her side a second later and she faintly heard him mutter near the door to his room as he left, “Damn bed has never looked more tempting.”

The front door closed with a quiet click and Sakura nuzzled into the blanket, the scent of Shikamaru wrapping around her. She heard a bird outside the window and peaked a sleepy eye at the glass.

Shikamaru seemed to have a small nest on his window sill. Sakura smiled and fell asleep thinking about how the birds looked so pretty against the blues and pinks of the sky.

***

When Sakura woke up, it was dark outside, and she had only had a moment to mourn her sleep schedule before she remembered where she was. She rolled over but found herself alone in the bed. She snorted wondering what she had been expecting. Despite his flirting earlier, Shikamaru was too much of a gentleman to just crawl into bed with her while she slept, even if he just laid there the whole time.

She slipped out of the blankets; the floor cold where her feet landed. She wondered if Shikamaru simply ran hot– _why the hell was his apartment so cold?_ She walked out of the bedroom and into the living room, spotting him on the couch fast asleep.

Sakura smiled and went to him, her heart squeezing at how relaxed he looked with his hair down. She wanted to reach down for him but thought better of it. No matter where you were, it was best to be careful waking a sleeping shinobi.

“Shikamaru.”

For how much he slept in school and the few lazy ticks he still had, Shikamaru wasn’t a heavy sleeper. His eyes opened at the sound of her voice and he looked up at her sleepily. “Sakura? Something wrong?”

She grabbed his hand and pulled gently. “Come to bed.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, and Sakura shrugged. “I’m not going to put you out of your own bed.”

He could’ve told her he didn’t mind. Sakura could’ve even left to go back to her own apartment. But he simply smiled at her and let her pull him up from the couch. Sakura kept her hand in his as they walked back to his bedroom.

Once they were under the blankets, Sakura only hesitated a moment before reaching out tentatively to him. She caught his smirk in the darkness before he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. Sakura sighed against him, making herself comfortable with her hands on his chest and her face pressed against his neck.

***

Shikamaru teased her the next day about coming over for more sleepovers and Sakura surprised him by kissing the smirk off his face. “Only if you buy me dinner first.”


End file.
